How normal is the child's development?

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The development of infants and young children is extremely rapid, changing from day to day. Therefore, parents need to have knowledge of "how a child develops normally" to have appropriate care and take the child to the doctor in time if there is any abnormality.

1. Overview of growth and development of infants and young children

For the first few months, babies need only breast milk or formula for proper and complete nutrition. Due to the small stomach volume, the feedings of babies are often few and scattered throughout the day with the number increasing by week.
When the baby is 6 months old, the baby can sit upright in a high chair and begins to show interest in food, parents can introduce the baby to solid foods and cereals. This ensures that the child will be fortified with iron when the iron stores in the body are gradually depleted as well as need to provide other necessary substances when the milk is no longer adequate.
While every baby is different and will develop at his or her own pace, during the first year, your baby will change dramatically in five distinct areas of development, including physical, cognitive, emotional emotional and social, language, sensory and motor skills.
With the characteristics that help to recognize how a child's development is normal presented below, how to monitor the child's growth chart, parents should soon detect and consult a pediatrician if they have any questions. or worry that your child is not developing normally.

2. How normal is the child's development?

2.1. Physical Development From birth to 4 months, babies grow about 7.6 cm (3 inches) and gain an average of 2 kg (4.5 pounds) from their birth length and weight. A baby's head circumference also increases by 0.6 to 1.3cm (0.25 to 0.5 inch) a month during the first year of life. At 6 months, a baby's weight usually doubles from birth, averaging 15 to 30 grams (0.5 oz to 1 oz) per day.
After that, the infant may begin to slow down during this time. However, by their first birthday, normally developing babies should have increased in length by about 25cm (10 inches) and their weight had tripled at birth. In addition, babies can also start teething at this age, with the first tooth coming in between 4 and 18 months.
2.2. It is normal for children to develop cognitively As their cognitive and sensory abilities develop, so does their ability to interact with people and their surroundings.
Starting around 1-2 months old, babies will turn their head to one side and be interested in objects as well as people. After 3 months, this interest develops into the ability to anticipate familiar things and know how to react to them.
During the 4th month of life, your baby's vision will improve and most can link the senses of sight, taste, hearing and touch together to form an identity of an object or human, called the integration of senses.
Between 6 and 9 months of age, babies begin to recognize those familiar sights, sounds, and touches. Children can also better understand absences and create memories, a skill known as object permanence.
After gaining a better understanding of the familiar, 9 - 12 month olds become more inclined to observe others and explore objects and their surroundings. A child's personality, curiosity, and emotions will become more apparent at this age.

2.3. Psychological, emotional and social development As 1-month-old babies begin to better express their emotions (usually with alertness, wide eyes and round mouth), the relationship between fathers Mother and baby also begin to be strengthened. Children observe and learn to smile, along with eye contact and arm and hand movements. As early as 2-4 months, babies will develop attachments to familiar caregivers.
At 4-6 months of age, babies become more sociable and their facial expressions can now easily show emotions, such as anger and happiness, anxiety when the mother is absent. Children may cry, turn away, or become irritable when separated from caregivers, known as separation anxiety, or appear uncomfortable around strangers, known as stranger anxiety.
By the first birthday or about 9-12 months, separation anxiety or anxiety about strangers may decrease and children also increasingly show preference and affection for familiar caregivers. Independence also increases as your baby can begin to explore more by crawling or even walking.
2.4. Language Development Although infants often do not fully learn to speak during their first year of life, the development of language skills kicks in early, allowing them to understand and communicate with others. Although they do not yet understand what they are hearing, by about 1 month of age, babies can fully recognize soft, familiar voices, especially those of their parents.
From 3-6 weeks, babies begin to use certain cries to express different needs, such as hunger or sleepiness, even fussiness to achieve their desires. signs of normal infant development. Moreover, during this period, babies can also observe the other person's mouth and react. Around 5 months, babies start babbling or repeating sounds for attention, and they may even begin to recognize their own names when called.
Between 6-9 months, babies will begin to imitate the sounds and rhythms of speech. Children may still be babbling, but are able to recognize the meaning of the word "no" to their requests, know how to respond when asked to "wave goodbye" and begin to understand simple commands. simple.
Children develop normally until the age of 1, most will babble the words "mama" and "dada". In addition, from this age onwards, children will understand more words, tend to slur with unclear pronunciation but the tone is mimicking a real conversation.

2.5. Sensory and motor development As muscles begin to strengthen during the first month, most babies are able to hold their head up for a short time while lying on their stomach. Other limb movements at this point may be due to an infant's reflexes, such as the startle reflex, when the baby holds out his arms and extends his fingers in the face of a loud or unusual noise. doubt. These reflexes begin to fade after 6 weeks of age.
By 3 months, your baby will have better head control and start showing interest in his hands. Children learn to intentionally grip other people's fingers as a way to get attention. Around 4 months, control and balance of the head, neck, and trunk will allow the baby to begin rolling over, turning over, or lying on his stomach.
By 4 months of age, although still unsteady, infants can sit with their arms out in front of them for balance in a tripod position. However, between 6-9 months, leg-trunk coordination has improved, allowing babies to sit, crawl, and sometimes even pull themselves up to stand up. By 7 months, a baby's visual ability or vision has developed to almost the same level as that of an adult's eyes.
As the first birthday approaches, more hand and finger control allows children to better grasp small objects with their thumb and index finger instead of the whole palm. To learn and touch with all the senses, children tend to put objects in their mouths to chew and taste them. This is the ideal time for parents to practice self-directed weaning.
By the time the child can walk independently, he or she knows how to hold on to furniture to “travel” around the room. At this time, parents must make sure to secure any heavy objects that could be pulled by children, such as bookcases and wardrobes, and move any potentially harmful objects out of reach of children.
In summary, the development of infants and young children will change at a faster rate during the first year of life than at any other time, making parenting extremely enjoyable and sometimes stressful. straight. During this time, parents should remember to take their children for regular health check-ups as recommended by the pediatrician, to ensure that the child develops normally and comprehensively.
For more nutritional knowledge and child care for each age, parents should regularly visit the website vimec.com and make an appointment with the leading doctors, pediatric and nutrition experts of the National General Hospital. Vinmec when needing advice on children's health.